Clellan Card (June 24, 1903–April 13, 1966) was an on-air personality at the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Television station WCCO best known for the dozen years when he played Axel Torgeson on the local children's show ''Axel and His Dog''. Card was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, and spent most of his life in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

region, although he attended

Rutgers College Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.fishing tackle Fishing tackle is the equipment used by anglers when fishing. Almost any equipment or gear used in fishing can be called fishing tackle, examples being hooks, lines, baits/ lures, rods, reels, floats, sinkers/ feeders, nets, stringers/ k ...

commercial. He married Marion Satterlee in 1928 and had three boys from their union, Clellan Peter, 1929, John Brooke, 1934, and Michael Satterlee, 1939. The Axel character, a loony " Scandihoovian", was created by Card in the late 1930s on a morning radio show on WCCO AM called ''Almanac of the Air''. Card suffered great losses in September, 1952, and January, 1953, when the oldest two of his three children died in separate accidents. His son Peter died in an Air Force training crash in San Angelo, Texas, and John died in an automobile accident in Minneapolis. It is believed by those who knew him well that these events led Card to focus his broadcast talents toward children. ''Axel and His Dog'' went on the air the first time on August 5, 1954. Donald Stolz, founder of the Old Log Theater, played Towser, the dog, and soon added Tallulah the cat as well. Local singer and entertainer Mary Davies played Carmen the Nurse. In October 1954, the show was the first local program in the Twin Cities to be broadcast in

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

, using an experimental system. In January 1959, its rating was nearly three times that of the nearest competitor, ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

''. A memorable live event at Excelsior Amusement Park at Lake Minnetonka in 1958 saw an attendance of 12,000. In the early 1960s, Card was diagnosed with lymphoma, though few people outside of WCCO knew of his condition. He continued to do the show as long as possible, but was admitted to

Abbott Hospital Abbott Hospital is a former hospital building in the Stevens Square neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The hospital was originally built in 1910, with several additions up until 1958. The hospital eventually merged with Nort ...

in April 1966, and died eight days later. Carmen the Nurse went on the air the following day to inform viewers of what happened. A memorial fund was set up, with $5,600 raised in the next two months. Roughly half of the money came in small donations of coins from children. The

Pavek Museum of Broadcasting The Pavek Museum is a museum in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, that has one of the world's most significant collections of vintage radio and television equipment. It originated in the collection of Joe Pavek, who began collecting unique radios while h ...

inducted Card into its hall of fame for Minnesota broadcasters in 2002.

References

* Michael S. Card, youngest son of Clellan Card.

External links

Axel and His DogExcerpt from "Lost Twin Cities II": Axel and His Dog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Card, Clellan Radio in Minnesota Television in Minnesota 1903 births 1966 deaths